The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has announced a new trial starting this month will see two pilot Heavy Vehicle Safety Stations (HVSS) opened in NSW for industry use to check vehicles mass out of operating hours.
NHVR COO Paul Salvati says the pilot is being launched in response to industry feedback and will ultimately assist road safety and bolster self-compliance within the heavy vehicle industry.
“Effective from the beginning of April, two weighbridges will be open outside of operational hours on key transportation routes in NSW, allowing drivers to check the weight of their vehicle and ensure their movements are safe and efficient,” Salvati says.
The first location is the Halfway Creek HVSS, which sits on the Pacific Highway 32 kilometres south of Grafton, while the second is the Daroobalgie HVSS that sits near Parkes and will operate at both north and southbound sites.
“These sites are being offered on a trial basis to complement existing public weighing facilities and we will be closely monitoring this pilot, to evaluate its effectiveness,” Salvati says.
“With the weighbridges being open while unstaffed, we’d like to remind drivers to utilise these sites in a safe and productive manner.
“Throughout this pilot, we want to see these sites remain free from vandalism and damage – in the past, incidents like these resulted in many weighbridges being gated across NSW.”
While leaving the sites open isn’t a simple task, where an opportunity presents itself to increase safety and compliance, Salvati says the NHVR doesn’t hesitate to act.
“When it comes to creating a safer industry, and safer roads, the NHVR listens,” he says.
The NHVR reminds all drivers to conduct a pre-departure inspection of their vehicle, ensuring it’s roadworthy, the load is retrained correctly and compliant with mass limits. Yet it also recognises that sometimes drivers would benefit from seeing their vehicle mass to support ongoing compliance.
With the increase and adoption of On-Board Mass (OBM) technology on vehicles, the NHVR regularly see drivers validating the OBM when stopped at a safety station weighbridge.
“We want to encourage heavy vehicle drivers and operators to utilise these designated weighbridge facilities to assist in their compliance,” Salvati says.
“Overloading a vehicle not only jeopardises road infrastructure but also poses significant safety risks to motorists.
“All parties in the supply chain have a primary duty to ensure the safety of their transport activities.”
The NHVR says there are several organisations offering services across Australia for drivers to weigh their vehicle.
GoWeigh, a private service provider, has a network of public weighbridges located throughout Australia. The service can be used by almost any road user, ranging from b-double trucks through to recreational vehicles.
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources also has several public weighbridges listed on its website for public access.